Losing smell sounds minor until it happens. Food becomes texture, memories lose a dimension, and safety cues — gas, smoke, spoiled food — disappear. After viral illness it can persist for months.
The Lung opens at the nose
Chinese medicine holds that the Lung opens at the nose, so the sense of smell falls under its domain, and the Spleen governs taste. After a viral illness the tradition describes a lingering pathogenic factor obstructing the nasal passages, often with residual damp-phlegm. Where recovery is slow and the person is depleted, Lung and Spleen qi deficiency underlies it. Blood stasis features where obstruction is long-standing.
This turns out to be recorded directly. Among the signs ruled by Water Trough (Shui Gou, GV-26), the Systematic Classic lists a runny snivel disorder with inability to catch the breath, inability to control the discharge of mucus, and inability to detect fragrance or fetor. That last phrase — no longer able to tell a good smell from a bad one — is anosmia described from the inside. It appears in the nose chapter alongside congestion and polyps, so smell was treated as a function that could be lost while the nose was otherwise obstructed, which is roughly the distinction between a blocked nose and a nerve that has stopped reporting.
What treatment for smell loss involves
Treatment uses local points around the nose and face with distal points for the underlying pattern, sometimes with gentle electroacupuncture. Herbal medicine may be included. Alongside that we teach smell training, because it is the intervention with the best evidence in post-viral smell loss and costs nothing — and we would rather you did it than not.
What the olfactory research found
The research base for this specific condition is limited — small trials, mixed quality. Treatment here rests on pattern-based clinical reasoning and long traditional use, offered as supportive care alongside your medical management rather than on the basis of established effect. The evidence-based measure worth stating clearly is smell training: repeated deliberate sniffing of a small set of distinct scents, twice daily over months, which has reasonable support for post-viral olfactory loss. We teach it at the first appointment regardless of what else we do.
How we treat when smell has not returned
Post-viral smell loss became a much more common reason to visit Balmoral and Alexandra Hills after 2020, and it remains one. Patients are usually months in and discouraged. We are honest that recovery can be slow and incomplete, that smell training is the evidence-backed core, and that our treatment is supportive around it.
Smell training: the measure that works
Do smell training properly: four distinct scents — classically rose, lemon, clove and eucalyptus — sniffed deliberately for around twenty seconds each, twice daily, for several months. Consistency matters more than intensity. Keep eating varied food; texture and temperature still give pleasure. Fit smoke alarms and check gas safety, since you have lost a warning system. And be patient, because recovery is often gradual and partial before it is complete.
When it needs specialist assessment
Sudden loss of smell without any illness, loss on one side only, or loss with headache, vision changes, nosebleeds or neurological symptoms needs prompt medical assessment. Persistent loss beyond a few months warrants an ENT referral. Distorted smell where everything smells foul is common in recovery but worth mentioning to your doctor.
Individual responses vary, and assessment determines whether this approach suits your situation. Call (07) 3820 2887 or book online at our Balmoral or Alexandra Hills clinics.
Smell loss questions we hear often
Will it come back?
Often, but recovery can be slow and sometimes incomplete, and we will not promise otherwise. Smell training has the best evidence for improving the odds, which is why we teach it at the first visit.
What is smell training exactly?
Deliberately sniffing four distinct scents for about twenty seconds each, twice a day, for months. Rose, lemon, clove and eucalyptus are the classic set. It is dull and it is the best-supported thing available.
Why does everything smell wrong rather than absent?
Distorted smell is common during recovery as the system rewires, and it is often a sign of return rather than deterioration. Mention it to your doctor, but it is usually part of the process.
References
- Iqbal IS, Carnino JM, et al. Assessing the efficacy of acupuncture in the treatment of olfactory dysfunction. Annals of Otology, Rhinology and Laryngology. 2025. doi:10.1177/00034894241295477
- Huangfu Mi. The Systematic Classic of Acupuncture and Moxibustion (Zhen Jiu Jia Yi Jing), c. 259 CE. Translated by Yang Shou-zhong and Charles Chace. Boulder: Blue Poppy Press, 1994.
Written and clinically reviewed by Dr Francesco Pennisi
Registered Acupuncturist, Chinese Herbalist & Chinese Medicine Practitioner · Chinese Medicine Board of Australia (AHPRA) · AACMA Member
Dr Francesco brings more than 30 years of clinical experience to Results Acupuncture’s Balmoral and Alexandra Hills clinics, combining acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine and related therapies.
